Mercedes boss Toto Wolff may target Verstappen, while Russell reportedly explores options, including a surprise move to Aston Martin.
George Russell could have two top-tier options if he is dropped by Mercedes F1. Although Toto Wolff is pleased with the British driver, who is the best of the rest this year behind the McLarens and Max Verstappen, there is no doubt the Mercedes boss is leaving the door open for the Dutchman.
Former driver Ralf Schumacher believes the likelihood of Verstappen leaving Red Bull before the major regulation changes in 2026 is quite high. Schumacher is the one who introduced the theory that Verstappen’s outburst in Barcelona may have been a deliberate attempt to trigger a contract exit clause.
“If Max wants to leave, we couldn’t stop him,” he adds in new statements to Sky Deutschland regarding Verstappen’s intentions. “Red Bull is struggling right now and will continue to struggle for the foreseeable future.”
“The multiple upgrades haven’t worked so far, so why assume Pierre Wache is suddenly going to build a miracle car for the new regulations when he doesn’t even fully understand the current one?”
The Red Bull Powertrains-Ford engine for 2026 is an even greater concern. Dr. Helmut Marko of Red Bull insists on this point: “We are on the right track with our engines for 2026.”
“But obviously we don’t know exactly what the competition is doing. People are already talking about who has the advantage, but that only becomes clear once the cars hit the track.”
Rumors suggest that Mercedes will have the best engine, and Schumacher sees this as a huge incentive to sign Verstappen: “Max obviously wants a car that works. That’s not guaranteed at Red Bull right now. Max has time to make a decision. He can wait until the summer break or even later.”
Schumacher believes it is obvious that Wolff is still courting Verstappen, especially considering his “diplomatic” comments about the Verstappen-Russell clash in Barcelona, despite the Dutchman’s apparent fault: “I thought Toto Wolff’s reaction was very kind. It was very diplomatic.”
“Normally, you would expect a team boss to defend his own driver, but Toto more or less said ‘let’s calmly look at what Max actually did’. I found that very striking. It almost feels like Max and he are already sitting at a table discussing next year.”
It was already known that Russell had held talks with Red Bull, but it now appears the Briton is in contact with Aston Martin. In fact, Verstappen is said to have turned down the Silverstone team, and according to The Times, Russell is now at the top of the stack on Lawrence Stroll’s desk.